Barcelona hoping to have Marc-Andre ter Stegen back to 100% for Champions League knockout round
Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has missed their last three games since returning early from international duty with Germany due to back pain. However that pain is yet to subside, and it looks as if it could mean surgery for their second captain.
The 31-year-old and Barcelona’s medical staff will evaluate this week how to deal with his back pain, and as reported earlier, going under the knife is the best way to try and avoid a chronic problem. Diario AS claim that if he does not, then it will mean taking a break for the next couple of weeks to see if the pain subsides naturally.
The alternative is that he does undergo a simple procedure to ease pressure on his vertebrae, and would then miss four to six weeks. This would mean that he could be back with time to prepare ahead of the knockout stages in the Champions League, which begin in February.
At any rate, he will miss the rest of their 2023 schedule in all likelihood, which consists of Girona, Royal Antwerp, Valencia and Almeria. If that recovery period was to extend to six weeks, it would also mean missing Las Palmas, Osasuna and the Spanish Supercup final, should they make, as well as potentially a Copa del Rey tie.
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